Time to hit the panic button? Nah.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is in an interesting spot in 2025. The promotion continues to break records financially, from insane live gate revenue to its recently signed $7.7 billion television deal. But when it comes to mainstream stardom, the roster isn’t quite as stacked as it once was.
Conor McGregor hasn’t fought in years. Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar are long gone. Nate Diaz is off the roster, and Jon Jones has one foot out the door. Guys like Sean
O’Malley, Ilia Topuria, and Alex Pereira have the potential to fill the gap, but none have yet reached the same crossover appeal just yet.
Despite this reality, UFC CEO Dana White insists there’s no “star problem” at all. Speaking on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, White pushed back on the narrative that the company is struggling to produce the kind of household names that can carry the brand outside of combat sports.
“That narrative has been around since f—king – I was hearing this shit about Chuck Liddell leaving and Georges St-Pierre. ‘What are you going to do?’ People nonstop talk shit,” White said. “You just started this interview talking to me about a $7.7 billion dollar TV deal. I could go through the metrics of this business from top to bottom.”
“The problem is that literally nobody knows anything about this f—king business. They all have an opinion, but they don’t know jack shit,” White continued. “The UFC just signed this deal. We’ve got Power Slap. We’ve got boxing. You’ve got three of the biggest fights in boxing history — I was a part of two of them, and I’ve only done two. There’s a formula to the stuff. So when I listen to shit like ‘we have a superstar problem’ or we have a this problem or a that problem, my response to that is: ‘Believe me when I f—king tell you, we have no problems.'”
Whether you believe White or not depends on how you define a “star.” Financially, the UFC machine continues to thrive, seemingly unaffected by the absence of crossover names. But culturally, it’s undeniable that the sport feels different without the larger-than-life figures who once commanded headlines well beyond fight week. For now, the promotion’s next generation of champions has the chance to step into that role — if they can connect with audiences the way McGregor, Rousey, or Lesnar once did.
One thing is certain: as long as White is steering the ship, he’ll never admit there’s a problem.
